Inter-Agency Standing Comittee

On 15 March, Lebanon’s Prime Minister announced a medical state of emergency over the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, shutting down almost all public and private institutions. The pandemic hits Lebanon at a time where the country is already facing an unprecedented economic crisis, impairing the capacities of already vulnerable Lebanese and refugees to subsist and heightening the risks of social instability. The COVID-19 outbreak is already leading to worryingly growing community tensions as fears of further outbreak are fuelling underlying tensions and waves of panic are spreading. Tensions are centred around stigmatization against refugees in cases of infection in informal settlements and overcrowded areas. The outbreak has also fuelled intra-Lebanese tensions. Divisions are visible online, coupled with spreading of misinformation and fake news.